Struggling Sony Sugar Company has fully settled Sh992 million debt to sugarcane farmers, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Martine Dima said, raising hopes of revamping the miller’s operations.
In the initial payment, the National Treasury disbursed 92.5 percent, translating to Sh686 million while the balance of Sh181 million was paid to cane growers last week.
“As a company, we topped up the amount with Sh125 million from our revenue collection and reduced the burden up to early June,” Mr Dima said.
Mr Dima said the newly adapted first-in, first-out payment model has inspired the confidence of farmers who had abandoned the crop due to late payment.
“The company has realised increased volumes of cane by up to 15,000 tonnes per week,” Mr Dima said.
He however pointed out that the biggest challenge remains the settlement of Sh800 million owed to workers which accumulated for 16 months.
The company said it has scheduled a factory maintenance exercise to improve efficiency and boost its crushing capacity to 3,000 tonnes of cane per day.
“The company is currently milling a maximum of 2,300 tonnes of cane per day but we aim to maximize the productivity in order to realize better results and cater for other overhead costs,” he said.
